USC’s Kam Woods did his best to eliminate an Iowa double digit lead by going on a tear in the second half, scoring 14 points in a row for the Trojans but at the buzzer he missed a three point shot that sealed the 73-72 win for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes started cold from the floor, missing their first nine shot attempts from the field and not making its first field goal until the 11:45 mark of the first half. The USC lead grew to, 14-3, before the Hawkeye offense settled in and cut the deficit to four, behind a 6-0 run.
The Trojans would respond to the Iowa run, building their lead back up. Prior to the end of the half, Iowa would use a 9-0 run to, briefly, take its first lead of the game, 27-26. USC would score on the following possession, giving the Trojans a 28-27 lead after 20 minutes.
Seniors Tavion Banks and Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa in the first half with eight points apiece. Banks led the team on the glass with five rebounds while redshirt freshman Cooper Koch pulled in four rebounds. The Hawkeyes shot just 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) from the field and 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Iowa was efficient at the free throw line shooting 10-of-11 (90.9 percent).
The Hawkeyes started the second half hot, making 9-of-13 shots, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc as they erased their halftime deficit to build a 17-point lead, 53-36, just before the midway point of the second half. In that span the Hawkeyes used a 17-2 and 10-0 run to help build the lead.
After leading by 16 with five minutes remaining in the game, USC used a 13-0 run, getting all 13 points from Kam Woods, to cut the Iowa led to just three with three minutes remaining. A 3-pointer from junior Alvaro Folgueiras would end the USC run and move Iowa’s lead back to six with two minutes remaining.
Head Coach Ben McCollum talked about the win, “I don’t know if it was just the days off that started us slow, but we started slow. I think I just had to go back to my Division II days and go crazy for a while and it seemed to work, so maybe I just need to coach like that from now on. I thought we got stops, I thought our game plan was excellent, I thought they kind of punished our game plan down the stretch there, while we were putting coverage on certain people, we weren’t as in coverage on Kam Woods. He was able to get to his spots and be able to finish. Obviously, it got him going, hit a few 3s, it became an issue for us. All-in-all good win. They are a good team. One of the most talented teams in the conference by far and away, and we’ll take it.”
USC took one-point lead with eight seconds remaining before Stirtz drew a foul with four seconds remaining, and went on to make both free throws, to give Iowa a one-point lead. USC’s 3-point shot attempt at the buzzer was off the mark as the Hawkeyes won, 73-72.
Banks and Stirtz led Iowa with 20 points apiece, while Banks also led Iowa on the glass with seven rebounds. Folgueiras added 14 points and three rebounds to round out Hawkeyes in double digits. As a team, Iowa shot, 23-of-55 (41.8 percent) from the field and 8-of-25 (32 percent) from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes shot 19-of-22 (86.4 percent) from the free-throw line. Iowa’s bench outscored USC, 22-6.
Up next for Iowa is a West Coast road trip to Oregon and Washington. Sunday the Hawkeyes play at Oregon at 7pm. Hear the game on KWPC brought to you by Ed Morse Chevy Buick GMC, Meineke Muffler, Muscatine Power and Water and Community Healthcare Dental Clinic.
